Energy efficiency at home could fatten your wallet

To make your home more energy-efficient, make sure all cracks and gaps are sealed.

To make your home more energy-efficient, make sure all cracks and gaps are sealed. (Shutterstock)

Emily HirschSpecial to The Morning Call

If you are like many homeowners lamenting your air conditioning bill this summer, now might be the time to consider making your home more energy-efficient. Why, you ask? It's simple: a poorly sealed home with a lot of cracks for air to escape is an expensive home to heat and cool.

While this is just a quick example of how improving the energy efficiency of your home can save you money (not to mention the

environment), the world of "energy efficient" homes is often nuanced and confusing to the average homeowner. To help navigate this complex topic, local experts weigh in on some exciting trends in energy-efficient homes.

Consumer demand is higher than ever

In recent years, we've seen an increased interest in energy-efficient homes due to savings potential on utilities and an awareness of impact on the environment. According to a 2013 study, "What Home Buyers Really Want" by the National Home Builders Association, 91 percent of homeowners want an Energy Star rating for their whole home.

In the Lehigh Valley, homebuyers tend to ask for energy-efficient features in their homes.

"Customers come in with a focus on energy," says Craig Snyder new construction specialist at Real Living Spectrum Homes. "Every customer cares about it," however, sometimes they don't realize the scope of energy-efficient homes until we talk through our program with them."

Put your home to the test

If you've ever wondered how energy-efficient — or inefficient— your current home is, a great place to start is an examination of your energy consumption.

Take a look around the room you are in now: is the air conditioning on? Are the lights on? Is the TV on standby mode? Phone charging? All of these factors consume energy in your home, so it's smart to test exactly how much energy you are using. The test used to determine this is the HERS test, which stands for Home Energy Rating System. To test your house, an expert evaluates the energy use by assigning your home a score — the lower the score, the more energy efficient the house. According to Snyder, the average resale home has a score of 130, while new homes average 100, and the average Real Living Spectrum Home is 70.

Ask the right questions

Perhaps after checking your HERS score, you are anxious to speak to a professional about making your home more efficient. Where do you go from there and what sort of questions do you prepare yourself with for this initial conversation? According to Snyder, "When it comes to energy-efficiency, it's about what you can't see" so it's important to ask the right questions. Ask questions like, "what type of wall sheeting system do you use?", "what type of insulation do you provide?" and "what is your HERS rating?"

Snyder says it's important to do your

homework, too.

"Ask what type of windows they plan to put in and the brands. Then, go home and search Google reviews of the products," he says.

Your home's envelope: the first line of defense

According to Brian Baker, co-owner and director of marketing and design at Studio 26, the first and most critical step to make your home more energy efficient is to focus on its "envelope."

"Think of your home as a cube that needs to be sealed: you've got four walls, a ceiling, roof, and floor," Baker says. "This is where you are going to get your biggest bang for your dollar by insulating and air sealing your house."

Baker says a sealed envelope becomes especially important when you consider our region: "We live in a tough environment in the sense that we have cold, dry winters and we have very moist, hot summers. Our building envelope has to handle both extreme environments."

Baker says making sure that your home is airtight lays the foundation for other projects such as reconfiguring your HVAC system, which might be throwing out more heat or air than your house really needs to overcompensate for all the air lost to cracks in your home.

Think about breathability

Once your home is sealed properly, it's time to consider the breathability of your home. According to Baker, oftentimes in newly sealed homes there can be unintended consequences in the form of sick building syndrome.

"With tighter homes, we can trap indoor pollutants such as radon and allergens so we have to bring in fresh air and more ventilation," Baker says. The solution is an energy recovery ventilation system, or what he refers to as the "lungs" of the house. Baker says they have two main functions: heat exchange and a humidity controlled component. For the heat exchange component, as fresh outside air comes in, stale air goes out, but not before there's a heat exchange.

"Say we're in the dead of winter, bringing in 15 degree air from outside. This outside air obviously must be heated, but why throw out the air that you already paid to be heated? Before you throw out stale air, the ERV extrapolates the heat from stale air and passes it to the cold, fresh air. In this way, the ERV acts like a pre-heater to the outside air," Baker says, adding it's crucial to also have an air filtration system in place to remove unwanted particles such as mold spores from the air.

Beyond heating and air conditioning

Baker say that about two-thirds of inquiries are primarily motivated by how much real money can be saved by decreasing energy use.

"For example, solar is a higher ticket item that most everyone would love to do, however its initial investment is hard to overcome at first," Baker says. That's why he says customers often find sealing their home more affordable since HVAC systems are the biggest source of energy consumption.